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Social media growth is over in the U.S. — which is its most valuable market
Social media companies aren’t growing as quickly as they used to. In some cases, they aren’t growing at all. In the United States, things are even worse for them: They’re shrinking. Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat are no longer adding new users in the United States. Facebook’s daily user base has been the same for the past three quarters. Twitter and Snapchat have both lost users in the U.S. or North America, respectively, in back-to-back quarters.
NINTENDO SWITCH MIGHT GET A YOUTUBE APP AS SOON AS THIS WEEK
Nintendo’s marketing strategy for the Switch has involved positioning the device as a games console and little else. But if an apparent leak is accurate, the Switch is about to get a new video-streaming option. On Saturday, French website NintendHome tweeted what it claimed was a screengrab of a Switch YouTube app teaser from Nintendo of America’s website. According to the image, Switch will get a YouTube app on Thursday.
Niantic revives ‘Ingress’ for the post–’Pokémon Go’ world
Niantic has a problem. It’s the king of GPS/AR/Maps–based “exergaming,” but it’s leasing its empire. Pokémon Go is built on IP it doesn’t own or control, and a portion of the profits are sent back to Japan. A chunk of the proceeds from its forthcoming Harry Potter game, already a likely blockbuster, will go to J.K. Rowling. It’s why Niantic is taking the time to remind the world that its own, original IP, Ingress, still exists. Launched in 2013, Ingress was Niantic’s first game, and one of the first to ask folks to wander around their locale and hunt for goodies. Six years and several million players later, the company has decided to relaunch the game, titled Ingress Prime. It’s hoping that a fresh start, a cleaned-up game and a deeper storyline will help coax back all of those people who tried Ingress once but never came back.
Red Dead Online beta start date, battle royale mode, rumours, leaks and more
Now that Red Dead Redemption 2 is out in the wild, fans are asking when the Red Dead Online beta is likely to begin. Much like GTA 5 and its predecessor, Red Dead Redemption 2 will have an online multiplayer feature called Red Dead Online. Access to the public beta is free for anyone who has purchased Red Dead Redemption 2, though not many details are available about it just yet.
Fortnite will start selling NFL skins this week
It’s not unusual to see a Fortnite dance celebration after a goal in any sport, so it was only a matter of time before the battle royale game officially brought that connection in-game. Today, Epic Games announced a partnership with the National Football League that will bring a variety of jersey cosmetics that players can wear. According to Epic, these outfits can look like any of the 32 NFL teams on the roster, though players will be able to choose their own number. There will also be a made-up Fortnite team jersey. All jerseys will be available on November 9th in the in-game shop, though the price is unknown. Based on the video accompanying the announcement, it seems that this tie-in will also have some new emotes for purchase, too.
If you missed Fortnite’s strangest live event yet or just want to see it again, it’s all right here
Fortnite’s giant purple cube named Kevin died on Sunday roughly 30 meters above Leaky Lake after an extended struggle with levitation. Memorial services were held immediately afterward in an endless white expanse where friends and family were invited to float weightlessly amongst themselves and in the company of abstract forms that coalesced into crystalline butterflies. Kevin was 72 days old.